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Megan K. Friedel (she/her) is Assistant Professor at the ²ÊÃñ±¦µä Libraries, where she serves as Lead Archivist and Head of Collections Management and Stewardship for the Libraries’ Rare and Distinctive Collections (RaD).ÌýIn these roles, she oversees all operations, personnel, and collections management for the Libraries' unique archival collections and also coordinates collection management issues across all four of RaD’s collecting areas (Archives, Government Information, Maps, and Rare Books).ÌýFriedel holds both an MLIS and MA in History from Simmons University and has worked professionally as an archivist since 2002, both at state historical societies and academic archives, before joining the ²ÊÃñ±¦µä Libraries faculty in 2018.ÌýHer scholarship focuses generally on the intersection between social justice and archives practice.

As a co-PI on Jews of Color: Histories and Futures, Megan co-manages the creation of the project’s oral history archive and oversees its long-term stewardship within the ²ÊÃñ±¦µä Libraries. Her research related to the project explores the use of oral history collection as a counter-method to extractive archival collection development practices, especially for under-represented histories and communities that have traditionally been excluded from the archival record.